Mai

"I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated; I love Zuko more than I fear you."
— Mai explaining to Azula why she saved Zuko during the Escape from the Boiling Rock.[1]

Mai was exceptionally proficient at throwing stilettos, a self-taught skill she developed out of boredom. Using small knives similar to ninja shuriken[3] and spring-loaded stilleto holsters concealed in her robes, she was capable of besting numerous benders at once, despite not being a bender herself. She was recruited by Azula along with Ty Lee to capture the Princess' brother and uncle, as well as the Avatar and his friends.[4]

Mai outwardly resembled an impassive and apathetic teenager. A victim of her father's political aspirations since early childhood, Mai confessed she got anything she wanted from her parents so long as she was quiet, well-mannered and perfectly behaved.[5] This had a profound effect on her personality, as it was deeply ingrained in her to keep all of her feelings and emotions strongly hidden. The only time she was ever seen happy was in the presence of Zuko, whom she loved deeply.

The strength of her feelings toward Zuko was revealed when she saved him from Azula at the Boiling Rock. She confronted Azula, declaring that her love for Zuko outweighed her fear of retaliation. As a result of this betrayal, Azula imprisoned her, along with Ty Lee, who stopped Azula's attack by blocking her chi.[1] She was later released after Zuko defeated Azula and claimed the throne. They restarted their relationship with a kiss before Zuko's coronation as the new Fire Lord,[6] though Mai broke up with him a year later.[7]

Contents

History

Early life

Mai was born in the Fire Nation to a noble family. She was an only child for thirteen years and was given whatever she wanted, as long as she behaved. Her parents were strict and they constantly required her to stay silent and behave perfectly, which in later years led to her emotional distance.[5] She greatly despised her life in the Fire Nation, to the point that she would throw knives at her wall out of boredom, a habit that eventually allowed her to develop a skill in fighting with weapons.[8] She later attended the Royal Fire Academy for Girls and became friends with Ty Lee and Azula, who noticed Mai's skill with knives.[4]

One particular day, when she was about ten years old, Mai sat off by herself under a tree, looking disinterested as Ty Lee and Azula played together and did cartwheels. However, she did show marked interest in Zuko, turning away shyly and blushing when he walked by with his mother. Azula noticed this and took Mai's obvious crush, which Azula later revealed to have been mutual, as a cue to humiliate both Zuko and Mai. Mai was ordered to balance an apple on her head which Azula set aflame. Zuko was subsequently tasked to knock it off her head, though the entire scheme ended up with both of them falling into a fountain on top of each other, much to the amusement of Azula and Ty Lee.[9]

Spring 100 AG

Meeting an old friend

Before joining Azula, Mai unwillingly resided in the newly conquered city of Omashu with her mother, infant brother, Tom-Tom, and her father, the Fire Nation-appointed governor of the city-state. Mai described Omashu as "unbearably bleak" to her mother and complained of how bored she was, stating that she was even more bored than she was back in the Fire Nation. Welcoming the distraction, she did not hesitate to go on the attack when the Omashu Resistance failed in their attempt to crush her and her family under a boulder. Thinking Aang and his friends were responsible, she pursued them until the resistance helped them escape.

Soon after, Azula arrived in the city, with Ty Lee in tow, to recruit Mai to assist her on a special mission. Desperate to get out of Omashu, Mai agreed to this immediately even though she had not been told what that mission was. Before leaving, however, Azula appointed Mai, in lieu of her father, to oversee a pre-arranged hostage trade: KingBumi for Tom-Tom, her baby brother, who wandered out of the city with a group of fleeing citizens and was subsequently assumed "kidnapped" by the resistance. However, right before Mai began the transaction, Azula interrupted, coyly suggesting that trading a powerful earthbender king for a two-year-old was strategically unwise. After a measured pause, Mai agreed and declared the deal off, thus initiating a fight between the two sides. Initially, she was overwhelmed by Katara's waterbending skills until Ty Lee blocked her opponent's chi. Mai was about to finish Katara off before Sokka knocked her weapon away with his boomerang. Later, as Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee were leaving the city, Mai confirmed, impassively, that their mission was to "track down" the now-fugitive Zuko and Iroh, though Azula noted that they also had a third target, Aang.[4]

Pursuing Team Avatar

Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee tracked Aang and his companions, and once Aang split from Katara and Sokka, Azula sent Mai and Ty Lee to face them while she chased down Aang. Mai and Ty Lee defeated the siblings rather easily, much in part thanks to the siblings' lack of sleep, though they were caught off-guard by an air blast from Appa and sent flying into a nearby river.[10]

When a Fire Nation drill was heading toward Ba Sing Se, Mai expressed her boredom by twirling a shuriken around her fingers. When a group of elite earthbenders attempted to stop the drill, Azula sent Mai and Ty Lee to face them, which elicited approval from Mai as it was something to do. However, when Azula sent Mai and Ty Lee after Sokka and Katara, who were caught trying to sabotage the drill from the inside, Mai refused to chase them into the slurry pipeline, stating that despite how much lightning this act of defiance might cause Azula to throw at her, she would not go into that "wall sludge juice"—which gave the impression that Mai was not scared of the princess. Later, Aang destroyed the drill by causing the slurry pipeline to back up and explode, thus covering everyone in the general vicinity in slurry. After this, a completely pristine Mai leaned out of a hatch and dryly announced to the sludge-drenched Ty Lee and Azula: "We lost."[11]

Fall of Ba Sing Se

Mai later assisted Azula in attacking Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors, stating that their colorful makeup and uniforms were making her nauseous.[12] After the three girls defeated the Kyoshi Warriors, Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee donned their uniforms to sneak into Ba Sing Se. On Azula's orders, Mai and Ty Lee deliberately talked about their Fire Nation origins in the open, banking on the Dai Li to be spying on them and relaying the message to Long Feng.

While lingering in the Earth King's throne room, Mai and the group were surprised by Katara who ran in with news about Zuko and Iroh. Azula said she would tell the Earth King, but Katara realized who they were because of Azula's amber-colored eyes. Ty Lee paralyzed her with a chi strike before she could escape and the trio proceeded to capture the waterbender.[13]

During the Coup of Ba Sing Se, Mai sat in the throne room with Ty Lee, apparently having been ordered to guard the Earth King's pet bear, Bosco, but did not care enough about her assignment to attempt to stop Sokka, Toph, and Earth King Kuei from retrieving the pet. She was so bored and restless from her duty that she let Toph, Sokka, and Kuei escape with the bear, stating, "Just take the bear."[14]

Summer 100 AG

Rekindled love

Mai and Zuko were later set up on a dinner date by Azula in a plan to persuade a reluctant Zuko to return home, playing off their childhood crushes on each other. However, the two caught on to the setup and decided to take a walk around Ba Sing Se. Soon after, they ran into Jin, who immediately recognized "Lee" and questioned who his companion was. Thinking quickly, Zuko sheepishly claimed that Mai was a friend from the circus, the knife thrower. Mai appeared to join in on the charade and decided to give a demonstration. After moving Zuko in front of a fountain and placing a fish from a seafood stand they had passed earlier on top of his head, she targeted and precisely pierced the fish with an icicle. Mai persuaded Jin to give it a try. Zuko was just barely able to avoid being impaled by the sharp piece of ice, falling backward into the fountain in the process. Leaning over the drenched prince, Mai wryly stated that now they were "even".

As he chased her down an alley, Zuko exclaimed that she could have gotten him killed, but Mai merely laughed it off. Zuko stopped to point out that she finally seemed to be enjoying herself, going on to say that he had missed seeing this side of her. Mai admitted that a lot had changed since the days when she "used to throw mud in his face", but not everything had changed; she proved this by kissing him softly. The next day, the two of them arrived at the ship to leave for the Fire Nation together.[15]

To the Fire Nation

Mai was next seen having a brief moment with Zuko on the ship voyage home, where he expressed nervousness about how much things would have changed and whether or not he would be forgiven and welcomed home. She humorously replied that she had not asked for his life story, told him not to worry, and kissed him briefly before departing once more. Later, when Azula saw Zuko moping, she commented that he was acting like Mai, though she amended that, claiming that Mai had been unusually cheerful lately.[16] Later, Zuko and Mai were having a romantic picnic on an ocean side cliff and enjoying an orange sunset together. Mai hated the color and told Zuko so, but this only made him chuckle and state how beautiful she was when she hated the world. Mai told Zuko she did not hate him and he told her the same and they kissed. Their moment was interrupted by Azula, who wished to speak with Zuko alone. The two tried to ignore her until Azula told Mai to go help Ty Lee, who apparently needed help untangling her braid. Mai complied, but glared briefly at Azula as she passed.[17]

Vacation at Ember Island

Mai's relationship with Zuko went through a rocky period during a trip to Ember Island; Zuko became increasingly short-tempered and tactless around her, growing frustrated when shiny shells and ice cream failed to impress her, though Zuko did accidentally drop the ice cream on her thigh; he also became protective when Ruon-Jian took interest in her. When he shoved Ruon-Jian across a room, breaking a vase, Mai reprimanded him for being "impatient, hot-headed, and angry". He responded by saying that she has no passion for anything and that she is "a big blah". Stung by this, Mai softly and yet harshly said that their relationship was over and wordlessly watched him storm outside.

When Zuko met her on the beach, she greeted him in a conciliatory tone, but he rudely asked her where her "boyfriend" is, and she got angry again. She remained cold toward him when he joined her, Ty Lee, and Azula around a campfire for a discussion. When Zuko yelled at Ty Lee, Mai told him to leave her alone; he persisted, however, and Ty Lee finally broke the story of her childhood out to them. Considering her words, Mai theorized that Ty Lee needed "ten boyfriends" because she wanted to make up for the attention she missed as a child. Ty Lee angrily asked for Mai's story, saying that all she saw with Mai was a "dingy, pasty, gray" aura. Mai dismissed the idea of auras and sarcastically apologized to Zuko for not being as "high-strung and crazy" as the others. Zuko said that he would like it if she did not keep her emotions bottled up; Mai explained to everyone how her mother's control and her father's political career meant that she could not stand out as she wanted to as a child. Azula summarized this, saying that a controlling mother was why Mai was afraid of caring about anything and could not express herself. Mai snapped at Azula's attempt to be an emotional mediator, demanding to be left alone. When Zuko moved to calm her down, she angrily refused him again and said that his not having an easy life was no excuse for the anger he had been showing. She and the other girls pressured Zuko, asking at whom he was angry. When he admitted that he was angry at himself and confused about what was right and what was wrong, Mai saw him once again as the Zuko she loved. Moving to comfort him, she said he is the one thing she cares about. Mai kissed him again, reaffirming their relationship.[5]

A happy relationship

Mai and Zuko were on much better terms in the weeks that followed. Mai had learned to express herself more often and Zuko often visited her at home, which was across from the palace. Zuko asked her what she would want from the world if she could have anything she wanted, when she wanted it, and she said that it would be a fruit tart with rose petals on top. Zuko requested a tart from his servants, and they went on to discuss the advantages and downsides of being royalty. Mai suddenly mentioned a war meeting that Azula had been invited to, assuming that Zuko was also going, but he had not been invited.

Zuko was annoyed that his father would invite Azula to the meeting as opposed to his true heir, despite the fact that Azula assured him that he was wanted there. Mai tried to cheer up Zuko by suggesting that he boss around some servants or that they have some more fruit tarts, but to no avail. The next day, they were hanging out again when a servant came in to say that Zuko was expected at the meeting. This cheered up Zuko and Mai a great deal. When the meeting ended, Mai was happy to hear that Zuko was allowed to sit by his father's right side, but he told her that even though he acted like the son his father wanted, he was not being himself. It was clear to her that he had more on his mind.[18]

A broken heart

Mai was not seen during the Day of Black Sun, as she and the rest of the people in the Fire Nation Capital had been ordered to evacuate. However, Zuko wrote a letter and left the message in her bedroom, stating that he was leaving to join the Avatar.[19] Zuko was clearly upset that he must leave her, but he told Sokka he did that in order to protect her since he became a traitor. He did not want her to get caught in the crossfire on his behalf, to be branded as a traitor along with him.

At the Boiling Rock, Zuko learned that the warden was Mai's uncle, who told him that he had broken Mai's heart when he had left her.[20] When the two met unexpectedly, Mai was in her characteristically irritated demeanor, but she had clearly been deeply hurt, and argued with Zuko about his motives for leaving. She also berated him for leaving only a letter as a good-bye, rather than having the courage to break with her to her face. Zuko attempted to explain himself, saying that it was necessary to save his country, but Mai did not agree with his intent, saying he was betraying it instead, and turned away from him as he tried to protest. When a riot started, a guard arrived with orders from the warden to protect her- although, as both she and Zuko stated, she did not need any protection. Zuko took advantage of this moment and locked both inside the room. Mai glared at Zuko tearfully through the view hole, and Zuko showed deep regret before he fled to help Sokka.[1]

Arrest

Later, during the escape, the guards were about to cut the line from the gondola that held Zuko, Sokka, Hakoda, Suki, Chit Sang, and the warden. The guards were attacked and stopped by Mai who, when questioned what she was doing, stated that she was "saving the jerk who dumped [her]." Reactivating the cable, she engaged the gondola guards in combat, outmatching them with her knives, darts and sheer agility.

Mai was eventually arrested and brought before an enraged Azula and a frightened Ty Lee. When she was asked why she did what she had done as she knew what the consequences would be, Mai scornfully replied that her love for Zuko was stronger than her fear of Azula, adding that the princess had thus miscalculated.
Enraged by this retort, Azula prepared to attack Mai with her firebending; despite knowing that Azula's lightning would quickly kill her, Mai answered the challenge, readying a shuriken to defend herself. Much to Mai's surprise, Ty Lee intervened by chi blocking Azula. The two friends were immediately apprehended by the guards, however, and Azula ordered them to be locked away.[1]

Release from prison

Mai and Ty Lee remained locked up at another prison, judging by the fact they met the Kyoshi Warriors not imprisoned at the Boiling Rock, until the defeat of Fire LordOzai during the coming of Sozin's Comet. After the battle, Mai and Ty Lee were freed after Mai's uncle "pulled a few strings", and due to the fact that her boyfriend was the new Fire Lord. While they finally reunited with a kiss, she sternly told Zuko not to ever break up with her again before embracing him.

Mai had apparently made peace with the Avatar's group since the Hundred Year War ended. She was seen in Earth Kingdomrobes, enjoying the newfound peace with her boyfriend and Team Avatar in Ba Sing Se at the Jasmine Dragon. She joined Suki in a game of Pai Sho and later, joined the rest of the group in making fun of Sokka's amateur drawing; in Mai's case, his efforts made her look like a man.[6]

After the Hundred Year War

Mai breaking up with Zuko, shortly after she became aware of his meetings with Ozai.

When Fire Lord Zuko returned to Capital City from his trip to Yu Dao, Mai noticed how tired he was and asked him to tell her his problems since she was his girlfriend, to which Zuko answered that he would. Mai subsequently informed him that, in order to put his mind at ease, she had asked the Kyoshi Warriors, including Ty Lee, for help with the security of the palace after an attempted assassination of Zuko by Kori Morishita.[21]

However, Mai later found out through Suki that Zuko had been secretly visiting his father. Angered that she was being kept out of the loop of everything, Mai broke up with Zuko, saying "You love your secrets more [than you love me]".[7]

After their break up, she left the Fire Nation Royal Palace and accepted her Aunt Mura's invitation to work at her flower shop as her assistant. While working on a flower arrangement, a young man named Kei Lo entered the shop and started flirting with her. The two went out on a date together, sharing a meal at the local noodle shop.

When Kei Lo established that Mai had been downcast ever since she had broken up with Zuko, he led her to a meeting of the New Ozai Society. To her surprise, her father was the leader of the society, having propositioned Kei Lo to bring his daughter there. Mai was displeased to see him, even more so after he offered her to join them in their attempts to reinstate Ozai to the throne. As Zuko's former girlfriend, she could give the society the confidential information they would need to bring Zuko down. However, Mai picked up her brother, tied him on her back in a sash, and promptly announced that they were leaving, rejecting Ukano's offer. The society members moved to apprehend her, but they were no match for Mai, who swiftly dealt with them. Apart from her father, Kei Lo was the last man still standing. He did not fight her, instead trying to tell her that he really liked her, though she cut him off by knocking him out, declaring that to be the end of their date. She left Ukano in the middle of the wrecked meeting room. Afterward, she returned to her aunt's flower shop with Tom-Tom and stared at a picture of her and Zuko.[22]

Personality

Due to Mai's meticulous upbringing, she was consistently unamused.

Dark, brooding, stoic, and gloomy, Mai was usually bored by her circumstances and took little interest in anything around her. Her lack of emotion was due to the manner in which she was brought up by her politically-motivated parents. Her apathy tended to irritate others, such as when Zuko described her as "just a big blah", and when Ty Lee described Mai's aura as "dingy and gray".[5] Mai's lack of emotion and constant calm sharply contrasted Zuko's passion and temper.

Mai was also not easily intimidated; she was one of the few people not afraid of Azula. While aboard the Fire Nation drill, she vehemently refused to enter the slurry pipeline to pursue Sokka and Katara, unconcerned with the consequences of disobeying Azula's order.

She never displayed any bigotry or xenophobia toward people of other nations, attitudes that were characteristic of much of the Fire Nation nobility, especially Azula.[11]

Like Zuko, Mai was against the idea of needless killing; more often than not, she chose to disable foes rather than outright kill them during battle. She generally achieved this by using her weapons to pin their clothes, usually the sleeves, to a vertical surface.

When united with Zuko, Mai overcame her stoic nature and showed genuine happiness.

Despite her stoic nature, her strong relationship with Zuko tended to bring out her more passionate side. Azula took note of Mai's "strangely good mood" since Zuko's return to the Fire Nation.[17] When Azula started toying with them and mocked her boyfriend, Mai soothed him by assuring him that, even though she had trouble showing it, she did love him.[5] She expressed deep concern when Zuko fretted over why he was not invited to a war meeting hosted by his father.[18] Mai was devastated by Zuko's sudden departure from the Fire Nation and consequently harbored some resentment toward him, as evidenced by her bitter confrontation with Zuko in his prison cell at the Boiling Rock. Despite her hurt, however, she retained great affection for Zuko, aiding his escape from the prison and, in the process, betraying her loyalty to Azula; she later affirmed to the princess that she loved Zuko more than she feared the latter.[1] Unwilling to hold a grudge, Mai happily reunited with Zuko after the Hundred Year War ended.[6]

Abilities

Mai was a master markswoman, able to skillfully hit targets from a distance. This skill, also known as "stilettos", involved shuriken knives and hand arrows, a skill that apparently started with her throwing knives at her bedroom wall out of boredom.[23] She had a deadly accuracy with these weapons and used them to pin her opponents down, even if she or the target was moving, which also helped against benders as they primarily needed their hands and arms to be free to bend. Her expert marksmanship gave her enough strength to defeat powerful benders and multiple opponents.

While she usually pinned her opponents down with her stilettos, she had been seen throwing them in a way that would cause severe, and possibly fatal, injuries, such as when she attacked Aang and Katara,[4] and Toph.[14] Mai's excellent reflexes, speed, and agility, enabled her to incapacitate several prison guards[1] without killing or injuring them. She proved to be quite nimble; on several occasions she was able to leap across long distances and over high obstacles with little effort. She was also shown to be able to slide across surfaces on her side. When attacking the guards on the Boiling Rock, she was able to attack and dodge by throwing a knife and diving onto her side, gliding across the metal surface in one fluid motion. In addition to her shurikens and the arrow-like darts in her sleeve and ankle holsters, Mai was also proficient with a three-pronged, retractable sai dagger which she used for close combat.[1]

Book Three: Fire (火)

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Trivia

Mai is the Cantonese pronunciation of 袂 meaning "sleeve of a robe", which is where Mai conceals her weapons. Her name is also phonetically similar to the Japanese mei (冥, めい), meaning "dark", which is relatable to her gloomy personality.

Mai's hairstyle was based on the Chinese traditional "ox horns" hairstyle. Like many traditional Chinese hairstyles, Mai's hair was bunched up and tied into buns on the top, with the rest let down below shoulder-level. Her hairstyle should not be confused with the odango hairstyle, which was popularized by and refers to styles in certain anime.

Due to the severity and violence of her attack methods, Mai's daggers were never actually shown hitting a person directly. Rather, they were just barely blocked or dodged. However, when they did hit, they were always aimed at the target's sleeves or clothing and were merely meant to disable the target. The closest these knives were shown to hitting someone in the show was when Katara was fighting Mai in Omashu; when Mai threw a flurry of knives at her, Katara used her waterbending to knock wooden boards into the air in front of her, causing the knives to hit the boards only inches from her face.[4]

Though Mai was most often seen using knives and daggers, she could also shoot arrows from the holsters on her wrists and ankles.[4]

Mai is the only person who wears nail polish in the entire series, though only in season two.